DETROIT MICHIGAN

We decided Michigan was one of the four states we have never been in.  So we made a little side trip up to Detroit.  The traffic around there is about as bad as Seattle!  Our goal was to go to the Detroit LDS Temple, which of course is not in downtown Detroit.  When I called to make sure of their session times, they said you needed reservations.  So I made the appointment for the 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening.  With the terrible traffic we got there at 6:15 and wasn't dressed or cleaned up for it.  I had 17 family names that needed to be sealed, so we decided to do that instead.  What a great experience that was!  My great grandmother came from a family of 10 children and we were able to seal them all to their parents.  I know there was some rejoicing going on that night!! A forever family!!

We parked in the Stake Center parking lot next door.  The next morning it was a little foggy.  We talked to a gentleman that had come for choir practice at 7:30 Saturday morning. (Dedication!)  He said the building was due to the generosity of George Romney.

As we were leaving, heading toward Toledo, Ohio the GPS was wanting us to go onto a certain street to get to a freeway.  We noticed a sign, (thank God) underpass 12'9".  Up to that time the shortest one we had passed under was 13'8".  We decided maybe we better pull over and measure.  Vern had put on a new vent cover and we were not sure how tall we actually were.  So he climbed on the roof. (Should have gotten a picture) with the only tape measure we have with us.  Goes to 10 feet. Anyway as close as we can tell we are 13'2".   All I can say, "I'm glad we said our prayers that morning and someone is looking out for us!"
As they have been every day of our trip.

We made it out of Michigan and thru Ohio on the turnpike, which cost us $23.45.
We are spending Saturday and Sunday nights here in Knox, Pennsylvania.  Found the Branch building Saturday night to go to the Women's Broadcast, but they had all gone to the Stake Center in Pittsburgh a hour and half away.  Went to Church this morning.  What a neat little branch.  Reminded us of the Cathlamet Branch we grew up in.  We are so blessed at home, 45 minutes to the Temple.  They have to drive to DC which is a 5 hr trip.

 

HELLO LAKE MICHIGAN * CHICAGO TEMPLE

This is the view out our front windshield.  Lake Michigan.  We are spending a couple nights at the Great Lakes Navel Training Center Family Camp.  It is located about 30 miles from downtown Chicago.  It's a beautiful camp.  The weather is perfect, but all good things must come to an end.  We will be pulling out tomorrow morning.  The beach is just down the road.

We drove to the Chicago Temple today.  It's not really in Chicago, but a Northern suburb about 20 miles from where we are parked.  The setting is quite beautiful.  It reminds me of the Portland Temple.  Lots of trees.   Inside it really reminded us of the Taipei Taiwan Temple.

THE CORN PALACE * A MAIZE ING

Mitchell South Dakota * The Corn Palace

The first corn palace to be built was in 1892 to attract immigrant farmers to settle there.  Because of their bounty-est crops each fall they would decorate the building with cobs of different color corn cut in half and nailed to the sides of the building, along with other grains.  Each year is a different theme.  The patterns are designed by local artists.  All the work is done by volunteers.  On the right side of the main doors, you might be able to see a lift where they are working to complete that mural but had quit for the day.  And two young boys were on scaffolding stripping off a old design right above the word celebrate. 

 These pictures were all along the side of the palace.
The building is home to the local high school basketball, stage shows, trade shows, and other community events.  Roughly 275 thousand ears of corn, along with 3,000 bushels of rye, oat heads and sour dock (not sure what that is) are tied in bundles and attached between and below the pictures.  You can't see them very well, but birds were perched on the ledge eating the corn kernels.

The inside murals are never changed.

WE LOVE SOUTH DAKOTA

ON THE ROAD AGAIN ... WALL SOUTH DAKOTA

  Can anyone send money?  We lost our credit cards, our wallets, our motorhome got stuck in one of the tunnels around Mt. Rushmore!  Can anybody help a friend?  Please wire money!!  (Inside Joke)

This is Wall SD - just jokin!

We left Ellsworth AFB Family Camp bright and early Monday morning and not too far down the road is Wall South Dakota.  Everyone has to stop at Wall at least once in their life!!  It has quite a history of how it came about.  The Hustead family bought a drug store in Wall in 1931.  They would give it five years to be able to build up the business and be able to support their family.  Well as you know, this was the great depression and times were hard.  The five years was just about up, and business was not that good.  The wife came up with a great idea.  Mt. Rushmore had just been completed and lots of traffic was passing by, but wasn't stopping. It was a hot and dusty summer July day.  Dorothy said we need to advertise free ice cold water.  They put up signs on the road, and sure enough people started stopping, and of course buying other things also.  Will needless to say, they finally made a go of it, and still offer free ice water and added free coffee and dough-nuts to veterans and honeymooners!!

Got the bull by the horns!

A friend of Vern

A jackalope

The actual Wall

The Gambler

SATURDAY IS A SPECIAL DAY!

Saturday is a special, it's a day we get ready for Sunday.  We wash the car and the "house".  We wash the 

clothes, including the blouse.  We vacuum the floor, clean the doors, so we will be ready for Sunday.

We spent three nights at Ellsworth AFB Family Camp, just resting up and getting caught up on regular stuff.

We had to drive 14 miles back into Rapid City to go to Church.  They were having their Primary Program.  I  wonder how many of those we will see in the next month?  : )

Do you know how many bugs gave of their life to ride with us.

Nice clean windshield.

Nice clean clothes.

Harvest Moon on the Road

Mount Rushmore By Day and By Night - Crazy Horse Too!

What an amazing place.  It really makes you realize what a blessed country we live in.  Especially with
some of our earlier Presidents who made our country what it is today. 

Just seeing what those workers went thru to make this dream come true.  Unbelievable, and no one was killed. So while we
were looking around one of the Parks people said we needed to come back at 8:00 p.m. for a special lighting program.  So we decided to drive over to the Crazy Horse Monument.  It's about 17 miles away and then come back for the program.  We thought we would have plenty of time, not realizing all the things to do and see over there also.  Needless to say, we didn't get to see everything, but had to leave to get back to Rushmore for the program.  They have a laser show up on the mountain at the same time as the Mt Rushmore program!


This is what the Crazy Horse Monument is going to look like.  Probably not in our life time.  The sculptor who started it 1948
died in 1982, but he had 10 children, who are carrying on the work.  It is a tribute to the American Indians.  When it is complete
it will the world's largest mountain carving.  The face is complete.  You can faintly see the outline in brown in the picture below.  The hardest part so far, the open space, very small now, under his arm.  They are working on the horse head now.

 This is a better picture.  Below is the picture taken from inside the museum.

Progress over the years.  Can't see too well. These are some other scenes in the museum.

 They call this "Nature's Gate"  All kinds of animals Very beautiful.

Avenue of flags - Night

and birds in gold.

Avenue of Flags - Day Time

Each one of the 50 States were represented.  This is Washington.

ONCE IN A LIFE TIME SIGHT - AMAZING - PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

Can you spot Vern?

 

 

After a short program, they called all the men and women in the audience who had or are serving their country in the military to come down on the stage as the flag was being lowered and folded.  What an honor!  They were given a standing ovation.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD

 A little further down the road we came upon "Custer's Last Stand".  We had an amazing parks ranger who retold the story and actually brought history alive.  This is a picture of the National
Cemetery on the property, where all the fallen soldiers were exhumed from shallow graves  and later buried there along with many other soldiers from other Indian wars.

 This is in memory of all the horses that were killed.  One horse
survived.  They found him down by the river, half dead, drinking
water.  Which was coming out some of the bullet holes as he drank.  They took him to one of the military posts and nursed him back to health and he lived quite a few years after that.  He was never ridden again, but was used in military funerals with the empty boots in the stirrups.

 The tombstone with the black with white lettering
is where Col. Custer's body was found, right at the fore front of his men.  All the white markers show where each body was found.  It is a very spiritual
place.  Just thinking of those who lost their lives.  Most where very young, and untrained, which were attack by alot of Indians.






The red markers were placed where Indians lost their
lives.  They were also working on an Indian monument, but we were unable to go near it.  It was under
construction.

.

This is the  monument at the top of the hill, listing all those who died on this battlefield.










Here are the markers were the bodies were found.